


Near Death Clichés

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Arguing, Car Accidents, Gen, Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio Friendship, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, Major Character Injury, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-08-09 01:09:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16440233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: You never know when you’ll see someone for the last time.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this really quick but i couldn’t get it out of my head and i MIGHT add onto it if i get bored one day but for now i’m just going to leave it here

Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou had a complicated relationship.

 

They would scream at each other and call each other names one minute and the next they would be acting like best friends. No one on the team really understood them, but they scored points and worked together well, so they didn’t question it.

 

They had their issues and everyone knew that, but they always turned out fine in the end. There were lines that were never crossed and that was how they kept the peace.

 

Everyone had lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

 

The boys had just gotten home from losing the inter-high. They put up a fight, but Aoba Johsai was simply too good for them. They needed more practice to fix their technique and with that, they’d beat them next time.

 

That was the mindset of everyone on the bus ride home. Well, almost everyone. Kageyama and Hinata has a different perspective. Of course, it was their mistakes that had cost them the game. They needed to be better, faster, more accurate.

 

When they got back to the gym, the bus was unloaded and everyone started going home. Hinata stopped Kageyama before he left.

 

“We should practice,” he said, voice quiet and slightly hoarse from crying.

 

Kageyama scowled. “No. I don’t need to. Just because you’re a worthless player doesn’t mean I need to stay late every single time to help you.”

 

Hinata looked shocked for a moment. Then, his face contorted into one of anger.

 

“Me being bad isn’t the problem,” he said. “It’s you thinking you’re so much better than everyone else. You hold yourself so much higher than everyone else on our team and it just proves that you haven’t changed at all! I can get better at volleyball, but you’ll always be a stupid king!”

 

Everyone in the gym was silent now, staring at the duo. Kageyama looked at Hinata with pure hatred in his eyes, but as the words sank in, he couldn’t mask the hurt thatflashed on his face. Hinata couldn’t take it anymore. He turned on his heel and ran from the gym, grabbing his bike and scrambling to get on it and ride away.

 

Hinata’s tears were drying as the wind whipped across his face, but new tears always replaced them.

 

How could he say that? Hinata knew how much it hurt Kageyama when he called him a king. No matter what Kageyama said to him, it didn’t amount to the kind of pain he probably caused him.

 

He had to apologize because he crossed that line. That line that both of them knew not to cross.

 

He had to turn around right now, he had to-

 

The sound of screeching tires cut off Hinata’s thoughts. He looked to his left and saw headlights hurtling toward him and time began to slow. He watched the headlights get closer and closer and eventually fear took over and screwed his eyes shut.

 

He didn’t feel the impact, but when he opened his eyes there were people surrounding him. Red flashing lights and hard, wet pavement. An ache situated deep in his skull and a tightness in his chest, but numbness residing everywhere else. Time went by sluggishly, a ringing in his ears. A woman kneeled down above him, her deep blue eyes staring into his own with worry. More people came, speaking to him and trying to get his attention, but he was fixated on those eyes. They reminded him of something. The head attached to them wasn’t familiar, but the eyes reminded him of-

 

Suddenly, every sound flooded back into Hinata’s awareness. He tried to suck in a breath, but it was met with a crushing pain that forced all of the air right back out, as well as some coppery fluid that was probably blood.

 

“You’re okay, you’re going to be okay, can you tell me your name?”

 

“N-Need,” Hinata choked. “I need to t-te-tell him I’m...” He groaned. “Sorry, I’m s-so-sor-sorry.”

 

Hinata could feel pain setting in, his legs impossible to move and his head heavy, pain stabbing through his chest. He coughed, more blood spouting from his mouth and dribbling down his face. He was barely aware of his body being placed on a gurney and loaded into an ambulance. All he knew was that every jostle and every movement of the paramedics moving him sent agony riddling through his body. He trained his eyes on the ceiling of the ambulance, focused on the slight rattle of medical instruments shaking and the siren wailing outside. Black seeped in through the edges of his vision and soon, everything faded to darkness.

 

-

 

The first thing Hinata felt was the pain. He wanted to cry out, but he couldn’t. Something was in his mouth. Something was going down his throat. He puckered his lips around the tube that reached all the way down, probably to help him breathe.

 

Next he opened his eyes. He couldn’t seem to open them all the way, but as he scanned the room he saw his mother’s blurry figure, asleep in the chair next to his bed. He was glad that she was here.

 

The next time he woke up, he wasn’t sure when he fell asleep. The tube was still in his mouth, but he opened his eyes and was a bit more awake. His mother grasped his hand and wept, crying about how she was scared and how he could have died. He wanted to hug her, to tell her that he was scared too, but all he could do was lay there as she cried, wishing that he could comfort her.

 

He woke up again at a gentle knock on the door. When he looked over, he immediately saw blue eyes slowly entering the room.

 

“Uh, hey,” Kageyama said, but his voice was so gentle, so quiet. “I-I... I see you have the...” He pointed to his mouth. “The tube- ventilator- thing, so you don’t have to say any... I just need to...”

 

Kageyama walked forward, letting out a shaky breath. Hinata could now get a better look at him and saw that his hair was unkempt, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He took a seat next to Hinata’s bed, where his mother normally was- when had she left?

 

“I-I’m so... I’m so sor-“ Kageyama’s voice broke and he buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking up and making an audible effort to keep his voice steady. “I didn’t mean wh-what I said- I never do. You have to know that.”

 

Hinata wanted to respond. He had to.

 

“I just... I thought you were going to die and the last thing I would have said to you was that-“ Kageyama broke down. He actually broke down right then and there and Hinata wasn’t expecting it, but Kageyama was now silently crying. “I thought the last thing you would have heard me say was that you’re worthless.”

 

Hinata tried to speak. His lips were moving but nothing was escaping his mouth. He moved his hand and reached out to where Kageyama’s hands were still cradling his face, fingers poking at his elbow. When Kageyama let his hands fall and looked at Hinata, he was able to make a grabbing motion towards Kageyama’s hand. The setter moved and placed his hand inside Hinata’s, the redhead clutching it with what little strength he had.

 

Hinata fell asleep to Kageyama’s gentle crying.

 

The next time Hinata woke up the tube in his mouth was gone. He had oxygen tubes going up his nose, filtering air into his nostrils. He saw his mother once again sitting next to his bed and tried to speak, but his throat was dry and all he could do was cough. It sent searing pain through his chest and it radiated through his entire body and he wanted to stop coughing, but he couldn’t. The pain was almost unbearable and it brought tears to his eyes until some sort of mask was placed over his mouth and nose.

 

Eventually he stopped coughing and was handed a cup of water with a straw. His mother held it while he took small sips from it.

 

The next few days were a blur of pain and sleeping and waking, pain and sleeping and waking, with the occasional cup of broth and eventually a cup of jello or pudding.

 

It was a while before Kageyama visited him again, entering with the same gentle knock as last time. He entered and he looked a bit less broken than last time, but the dark smudges under his eyes still remained.

 

“Hey,” Kageyama said upon entering.

 

“Hi,” Hinata replied, but it came out as a whisper.

 

“How are you feeling?”

 

Hinata grimaced. “Not good.”

 

Kageyama hummed in acknowledgment, moving to sit. “Do you remember the last time I came?”

 

“Yeah.” Hinata fixed his gaze on Kageyama’s eyes. “I want to... To tell you something.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You shouldn’t be sorry,” he said. “I should be. I-I am.” He took a breath. “I’m sorry for saying what I said.”

 

“Hinata, it’s okay-“

 

“No,” the redhead’s weak voice broke through Kageyama’s stronger one. “I knew that it would make you... Make you upset, and that’s why I said it. When I was dying, I held on because...” He felt tears come to his eyes. “Because I knew I had to tell you I was sorry. So I’m sorry, Kageyama.”

 

Kageyama grabbed his hand and they held onto each other.

 

“I forgive you if you forgive me,” he said. “Deal?”

 

Hinata smiled. “Deal.”


	2. KAGEYAMA/KARASUNO POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was Karasuno’s point of view on what happened to Hinata on that awful night? More importantly, how did Kageyama manage to pull himself through that period of uncertainty?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiya! here’s the other point of view to the first chapter, as requested. i hope it’s good!

After Hinata sprinted from the gym, everyone was left silently staring at the second half of the duo. Kageyama still had his eyes trained on the door that was swinging shut.

 

“Kageyama,” someone said. “Are you-“

 

“I’m fine,” he said, but his voice wasn’t stern. It broke just a little bit and he shoved his hands in his pockets for a second. “I’ll just... Go home.”

 

The setter grabbed his bag and started towards the door, ignoring the muttering of voices behind him. He took off towards his house, but heard a voice calling out to him from behind, nearly being carried away by the wind.

 

“Kageyama, wait up!”

 

He stopped walking. Kageyama looked behind him and saw Suga catching up to him.

 

“Hinata didn’t mean that,” he said. “He was just upset. You know that, right?”

 

He only shrugged.

 

Suga raised an eyebrow. “Kageyama,” he drawled. “Seriously. No one thinks you’re a king anymore.” He flinched once more at the word. “He just said it because he knew it would make you upset. Okay?”

 

“Yeah. Okay.”

 

“Go home and text him,” Suga said. “That is, unless he texts you first.”

 

Kageyama nodded and turned to walk away, moving with his eyes trained on the sidewalk. His feet dragged and he kicked pebbles out of his way as if they were blocking his path. Upon the sound of sirens blaring from behind him, Kageyama’s eyes were ripped from the path. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the ambulance and the police car, following them with his eyes until they disappeared from view. As soon as the sirens faded, the thoughts in his head came back just as loud, screaming “king, king,” over and over again.

 

Later that night, Kageyama was sat in his bed, staring at his phone. Suga seemed certain that Hinata was going to text him, but the spiker hadn’t yet. Of course, Kageyama had to be the bigger person. He texted out a halfhearted “I’m sorry” text, hoping that he’d get the same in return, and rolled over to go to sleep.

 

The next day, Kageyama went to practice angry. He expected to wake up and see a text back, but Hinata hadn’t even opened his message yet. Not only that, but the dumb idiot didn’t even wait to walk with him to school. He was probably still mad at Kageyama for calling him worthless.

 

King.

 

That’s what he was. A stupid king. Hinata was right for calling him out.

 

Kageyama pulled out his phone as he got closer to the school and texted another apology, saying that he’d buy Hinata some yogurt before school. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and opened the gym doors, stepping inside. What met his eyes was unpleasant.

 

His friends were distraught, hugging each other and crying. He walked up to the pair of people closest to him- Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. The former was crying uncontrollably while the latter held him, seemingly upset himself.

 

“What-What’s wrong?”

 

“Hinata... He...” Tsukishima cleared his throat. “He-“

 

“He got hit by a car!” Yamaguchi cried.

 

Tsukishima sighed. “His mom told coach and coach told Daichi, and he’s been telling people as they come in...”

 

There was more, but all Kageyama could hear was the ringing in his ears. His vision went blurry. He was falling.

 

“I told him he was worthless.”

 

“I know, Kageyama.”

 

“What if he’s dead?”

 

“He’s not.”

 

“What if he does die?”

 

“He might not, we can’t be sure.”

 

“But what if he does?”

 

“Kageyama, you need to breathe!”

 

He looked up into his coach’s eyes. The man was kneeling in front of him with his hands on his shoulders. Kageyama sucked a big breath in, burning his lungs, and exhaled as slowly as he could.

 

“I- What if- What if he-“

 

“I know, Kageyama,” Coach said. He collected him in a hug and the setter only stayed limp on his knees. “I know.”

 

“I need to go,” Kageyama said.

 

“I can take you home,” the coach offered, pulling away from the hug.

 

“Hospital,” he croaked. “To the- the hospital. I need to see him.”

 

Coach Ukai looked at him sadly. “He’s in intensive care, Kageyama. They had to fly him there in a helicopter. I don’t think they’re letting anyone but his family in to see him.”

 

“But- But I- I told him he’s worthless.” At that he began to cry, still in too much shock to wipe away his tears.

 

The bell rang and signaled that class was beginning. Ukai stood, looking at the broken team that sat around him.

 

“If you want to go home you can,” he said. “I’ll tell the dean what happened. If you need a ride then I can take you, just wait for me outside the gym. Give Kageyama and me some privacy.”

 

The team filed out with numb looks on their faces. The coach sat back down on the floor, looking at Kageyama.

 

“What’s this about you telling him he’s worthless?”

 

“We-We fought,” he said. “Last night. I told him he’s worthless. He called me a king. He left. What if he dies?”

 

“Kageyama, you guys fight all the time. I think he knows you didn’t actually mean what you said.”

 

“What if he-“

 

“Slow down, kid,” Ukai said. “Slow down. We need to give his family some space for now, but tomorrow we can call his mother and ask if he’s okay. Is that okay?”

 

“Sure,” Kageyama whispered.

 

“Will you be okay until then?”

 

He nodded.

 

“Good. How about I take you home, okay?”

 

He nodded again.

 

They walked outside and Yachi and Yamaguchi were waiting.

 

“Daichi already drove some people home,” Yamaguchi said quietly. “Others walked. Tsukki is the only one staying.”

 

Of course he would. Not like he cares anyway.

 

“I think he just wants to keep his mind off of everything,” Yamaguchi continued.

 

Oh. Yamaguchi knew him better than anyone and frankly, Kageyama didn’t have the energy to argue with anything he said at that moment.

 

“Kids,” Ukai said once they were all in his car. “Text your parents and tell them what’s going on.”

 

Kageyama pulled out his phone and numbly typed words that he couldn’t quite make out before sending the message and letting his hands fall into his lap.

 

The first house they got to was Yamaguchi’s. He got out of the car and didn’t even say goodbye, probably because he was too preoccupied. The next house was Kageyama’s and he looked at Yachi, who had been silent the whole time, as they pulled into his driveway.

 

“Hey,” he said, poking her hand. She looked up. “It’ll... It’ll be fine.”

 

She pursed her lips and nodded slightly, but Kageyama wasn’t so sure he believed his own words. He got out of the car and walked into his house, feeling the silence cave in on him as soon as he did.

 

-

 

The next day, Kageyama slept in. He knew he couldn’t possibly make it in time for the beginning of practice, but at this point he didn’t really care. He threw on some clothes and combed down his hair with his fingers and walked out the door.

 

Upon his arrival at the gym, he realized that some of his other teammates hadn’t arrived yet, either. Yachi wasn’t there, and neither were the other first years. It made sense, because the five first years were so tightly knit that they couldn’t seem to imagine anything ripping them apart. Especially not a car.

 

Kageyama immediately approached his coach. The man was talking with Daichi and Suga, who both looked worse for wear. The three all turned to the first year when he walked up.

 

“Can we call Hinata’s mother?”

 

Ukai nodded. “Sure. I’ll call now.”

 

He exited the gym and Kageyama watched him go. Daichi clapped a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but the hand alone helped his anxiety.

 

When Ukai came back in, everyone started to surround him.

 

“She said that he’s stable,” he said. “Not waking up yet though. It’s still too early to tell what kind of permanent damage he’ll have.”

 

“Can we go see him?” Nishinoya asked.

 

“Not all of you at once,” Ukai said. “I think it would be best to wait a few days before we all go.”

 

There were sighs of disappointment and the team began to disperse. The rest of the first years had already arrived by now and people were beginning to grab volleyballs, not to play, but to toss around in an attempt to relieve their anxieties.

 

“Kageyama,” Coach said. The setter jogged up to him. “I talked to Hinata’s mom, and she said that tomorrow afternoon I could bring you up for a visit. Sound good?”

 

The raven haired boy felt his eyes water as he nodded. He didn’t want to be so emotional, but he just felt so broken. He wanted to leave the gym and go to the hospital now, beg to be let in and tell Hinata how sorry he was. Thinking that Hinata could have died thinking he was worthless was breaking Kageyama down to his core, stripping him of the hard shell that he always wore.

 

The next day or so passed surprisingly quickly. Kageyama went through the motions, going to his classes all while feeling completely empty. He found his coach at the start of practice that afternoon, walking up to him with a look of longing.

 

“I’ll be out today,” the coach announced to the boys. “Practice is optional this afternoon and Takeda will be here to oversee things.”

 

As he walked out, everyone stared around at each other before Kageyama grabbed his things and walked out behind Ukai. They both wordlessly got into the coach’s car.

 

“He’s not in good shape,” the man said. “He’s on a ventilator- a tube in his mouth that’s helping him breathe. He probably won’t be awake when we get there, because he’s really only woken up once. I just want to make sure you’re prepared for what you’re about to see, okay?”

 

Kageyama nodded. “Yeah.”

 

They pulled into the hospital parking lot and as soon as Kageyama got out of the car, his anxiety and awareness was heightened. He winced at the bright overhead lights and the sounds of monitors beeping as they walked through the halls. Eventually they reached the ICU, lined with glass walls that looked into rooms with patients hooked up to so many wires and tubes they barely looked like people anymore. They stopped in front of one particular room and Kageyama glanced inside the glass, seeing the form of his friend on the bed there, wrapped in bandages and surrounded by wires.

 

“You can go in,” came a feminine voice. Kageyama looked over to see a red haired woman behind him. “I don’t think he’s awake, but you could knock to let him know you’re coming in- just in case he is.”

 

“Okay,” Kageyama said hoarsely.

 

He did so, knocking twice before opening the door and entering the room. He looked even worse as Kageyama got closer. His head was bandaged and both of his legs were casted, and what little skin was visible was bruised angrily.

 

It was only then that Kageyama realized that Hinata’s eyes were open. The honey brown orbs peeked through slightly swollen, definitely tired slits.

 

“Uh, hey,” Kageyama said quietly, so he didn’t cause Hinata to shatter any more than he already had. “I-I... I see you have the...” He pointed to his mouth, struggling to find the right word. He was still shocked that Hinata was awake at all. “The tube- ventilator- thing, so you don’t have to say any... I just need to...”

 

Kageyama walked forward, letting out a shaky breath. He took a seat next to Hinata’s bed, rubbing his knees to try and calm himself down. He didn’t want to break down, not now, not here.

 

“I-I’m so... I’m so sor-“ Kageyama felt his voice break and he buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking up. “I didn’t mean wh-what I said- I never do. You have to know that.”

 

Hinata’s eyes widened a little bit. Kageyama continued.

 

“I just... I thought you were going to die and the last thing I would have said to you was that-“ Kageyama couldn’t help but break down, no matter how hard he tried not to. “I thought the last thing you would have heard me say was that you’re worthless.”

 

Kageyama looked up through his fingers at the redhead and saw his lips moving around the tube in his mouth. They were slightly puckering against it, before he seemingly gave up on trying to communicate. Kageyama reconcealed his face, because he hated that Hinata was seeing him cry. The ginger shouldn’t be worrying about him at a time like this.

 

Suddenly, Kageyama felt a weak poke at his elbow. He started, and then let his hands fall away from his face and looked at Hinata. The redhead made a grabbing hand motion at Kageyama’s hand, reaching out to him. Biting his lip so he wouldn’t cry again, Kageyama moved his hand over and placed it inside Hinata’s. The tears he was holding back ended up falling when Hinata’s hand weakly squeezed his, shaking slightly as if he were exerting all the energy he had left.

 

At some point while they held hands and Kageyama sat there and cried, Hinata fell back asleep. Ukai came back in later on to say that they needed to get going, and Kageyama saw his sad eyes linger for a while on the sleeping, injured teenager on the hospital bed.

 

Kageyama left the hospital with a small weight taken off of his shoulders. He hadn’t heard Hinata’s response to his words, but he almost didn’t need to be forgiven. He wasn’t sure he even forgave himself quite yet. Just making sure Hinata knew that he was sorry was enough for him to finally be able to sleep that night.

 

So sleep he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn’t edit this so feel free to point anything out! i wrote everything on my phone so sometimes autocorrect changes certain words because it thinks it’s smarter than me. thanks for reading!!


End file.
